Off the Market
by JustAskSunKing
Summary: Edward's the consummate bachelor, always happy to close the deal and move on to the next. Bella's his business partner with an obvious McMansion-sized crush. One night of celebrating changes everything. Has Bella sold herself short, or will Edward finally take himself off the market? Drabbly and fluffy.
1. Chapter 1

**This is the adorable brainchild of justaskalice and SunKing, written during moments of boredom in the office. The POVs will switch, with justaskalice bringing Bella and SunKing bringing Edward. After tonight, we'll post twice per day, barring Internet issues and RL catastrophes. Hope you have as much fun reading as we did writing!**

**oOo**

When Edward walked in that morning with a beautiful bouquet of wildflowers, artfully arranged in a crystal vase, the whispers started immediately.

"Called it," Lauren crowed. "No way that gorgeous man was single."

"Mind your own business, Lauren," I snapped. "Shouldn't you be drawing up those revisions I gave you?"

"Touchy, touchy." She pulled a manila file folder out of a drawer and scowled. "You know, you should really invest in a handwriting coach. The only person who can read your edits without going cross-eyed is Alice."

I ignored her and walked back to my office, trying not to notice as Edward flashed that billion-dollar smile at Rosalie Hale, one of the other agents. We were closing on the biggest sale our tiny agency had seen in nearly three years, and everything needed to go perfectly. I didn't have time to indulge in my usual Monday morning fantasies.

That lasted about...oh, five minutes. I managed to focus on my work until Alice sashayed into my office with a coffee mug in each hand. She bumped my door shut with her hip and cleared her throat.

"Put down the blue sheet. You can dream about what you'll do with your commission later. Jess has a pool going on who the flowers are for, and the odds on you are excellent. I put in ten bucks."

I rolled my eyes. "Alice, come on. The flowers are obviously for the supermodel he's getting drinks with after we close on the Donovan property."

"You're going with that, huh?" She shook her head sadly as she set a coffee down in front of me. "Not great odds, I'm afraid. Jess is offering twenty-five to one."

"Jess has too much time on her hands if she's calculating odds for what Edward is doing with his free time. Doesn't she have some actual accounting to do?"

"This office is a well oiled machine, Bella. Your paranoia has no place here. Not today."

A soft knock on the door interrupted us, and Rosalie came in to give me a pep talk. I tended to get a little intimidated at the closing table, despite the fact I had been an agent for almost eight years. I was great with the details, and the person everyone came to with questions about language and contract drafting. Edward and I tag-teamed the sale for a reason. He was the most charming person on the planet and so naturally good at making people feel comfortable that having a conversation with him could be downright hypnotic.

Of course, I had a hard time ever feeling completely comfortable, on account of him being so beautiful and all.

By noon, I was the only person in the office who wasn't in on Jess's little pool. How the bet would be settled wasn't clear, since every time someone asked him who the flowers were for, he just smiled mysteriously.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he'd say, before changing the subject.

So, naturally, when I saw him walking across the office, flowers in hand, making a beeline for my office, I broke out in a cold sweat. If Alice won the pool, I would make her buy me a stiff drink. After I died of mortification. And ran my fingers through his hair at least once.

A girl can only take so much.

oOo

**We love m7707 for her beta help on this. You are the sun and the moon. We are silly with our adoration, but that doesn't make it any less true.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you ready for me?" I set the flowers down with a thump and leaned across the desk to get a better look at the documents Bella studied.

She looked up from the contracts, her cheeks flooded with color. Her eyes darted to the vase and back to me, wide and almost fearful.

"What? Oh, um. Yes. Just making sure it's all here. If we miss one thing—"

"Fifty-four thousand dollars down the drain."

"Each. Fifty-four thousand _each._" Her blush faded as the businesswoman inside took over. "Although I still think we should have split it sixty-forty. I brought the client in."

"You couldn't have sold it without my charm."

I was an ass for pointing it out, but I spoke the truth. No one knew contracts and deals like Bella, but she was far too soft spoken to go after buyers for a four million dollar house.

"I'll see you at the closing, Edward."

Her face turned pink again as she waved me out of her office. I didn't miss the way her expression crumbled when I picked up the flowers and walked out with them. Shit. She'd probably thought they were for her.

I found Alice at the front desk where she was organizing the files for me to take to the title company.

"When are you going to ask her out?" Alice handed me the paperwork, but her mind was obviously elsewhere.

"Who?"

If she could ignore my biggest deal of the year, I could ignore her matchmaking attempts.

"You know she likes you."

"Everyone knows she likes him." Lauren closed the game she was playing on the computer and turned around with a smirk. "It's kind of pathetic."

"What's pathetic is how you manage to pull a paycheck while playing Bejeweled all day long."

We all jumped when Bella spoke, embarrassed at being caught talking about her. She looked cool and collected as she snatched the statements from my hand. After overhearing Lauren's snarky comment, she should have blushed.

"Everything look okay?"

"Beautiful." I tread carefully, unwilling to hurt her more.

"Fine. I'll see you there."

"I'll walk you to your car." To Alice, I said, "Take messages instead of forwarding my calls. I'm taking my mom to lunch."

All three women gasped as I picked up the flowers once more. Bella even put her hand over her heart and smiled. I'd managed to get back in her good graces with flowers.

For my mom.


	3. Chapter 3

An awkward silence followed as we walked to the parking lot. The elephant in the room—my embarrassingly obvious crush on Edward—followed us out. Might as well take on that stupid pachyderm headfirst.

"You know, you just destroyed the office pool. Flowers for your mother, Edward? What are you, a Boy Scout?"

He sniffed and tossed his hair. He actually tossed his hair.

"Some people respect their mothers, Isabella. Some people were raised with manners."

"Ah, well there's the problem. I was raised by an aging hippie and a cop. You don't want to know what passes for manners in my family."

He laughed but quickly muffled it with his hand.

"Cullen, you can laugh. That was what we called a joke in the Swan household."

When we arrived at my car, he beat me to the door and opened it with a flourish.

"See you in an hour, Bella."

All the attention flustered me, which was probably exactly what he intended. I wasn't blind to the fact that sometimes Edward flirted just to see me get all pink and uncomfortable. That didn't make the flirting any less effective.

"Tell Esme I said hello."


	4. Chapter 4

"How's Bella?"

Mom didn't hide her interest in my business partner.

"Not you, too. What is with everyone today?"

My mother smiled into her Caesar salad and shook her head. "You can't have missed the fact that she's beautiful, Edward."

And she really was, in a very demure and classy Kate Middleton kind of way. I was more of a Pippa kind of guy.

"She's my business partner, Mom. Strictly business."

We didn't mention Bella again until I picked up the check.

"Are you off to the closing?"

"Yep. Big day. Big, big paycheck."

Mom smoothed her blouse and checked for crumbs. "You should take her out to celebrate."

"Who, Bella?"

I hadn't considered what we'd do when we closed the biggest deal of our careers. We'd been too focused on just making it happen.

"I wouldn't want her to get the wrong idea."

"Nonsense, Edward. You deserve to celebrate—both of you. At least go get a drink afterward. I'm not planning your wedding or anything."

A thrill of fear shot through me at the word. I wasn't even thirty—way too young to think of rings and tuxes and…honeymoons. And never with Bella.

"I'll ask," I promised. "Knowing Bella, she'll already be thinking about the next deal. She's got her eye on some producer's house. If we got that listing, this one would look like pocket change."

Mom opened her mouth to speak but thought better of it. Almost as if I could read her mind, I heard her unspoken words. _Imagine if you combined those commissions into one bank account._

"I'll call you tomorrow about this weekend. I'm not bringing a date to brunch, so don't even ask."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"Quit trying to marry me off." I opened the door and ushered her out.

"I never said a word, Edward. You're very touchy about this."

She settled into her car and started the engine.

"I'm not touchy," I contested hotly. "I'm just tired of everyone today trying to fuc—"

My mother leaned against the horn and drowned out my words. Then, with a jaunty wave, she peeled out of the parking lot and left me slack-jawed and alone.


	5. Chapter 5

Watching Laurent LeRoy sign his name was one of the most exhilarating and terrifying moments of my career. Once it was done, I flashed Edward a huge smile and shook hands with James and Victoria, the sellers we represented.

"Congratulations, Mr. LeRoy. I'm sure you'll love your new home."

It was a seven-bedroom, five-bath, six-thousand-square-foot monstrosity. When stacked up against the one thousand square foot house I grew up in, it seemed a little excessive. But our clients were thrilled at finally having sold their McMansion, and the paycheck was going to mean big things for me. Edward and I had worked a very long time to hook Laurent, and in the end, closing the deal was a tribute to both our strengths.

I was beaming from ear to ear when Edward said the words I never expected to hear.

"I think we should celebrate. How about drinks? On me."

"I think you can afford it," I snarked, taking the arm he offered. "Why Mr. Cullen, are you showing off your manners again?"

"My manners are always on display, Ms. Swan." He grinned down at me, and for once I wasn't intimidated or overtaken by how ridiculously good-looking the man was. I was just happy and running on pure adrenaline.

"I think you should drive me to a fancy bar in that ridiculous Volvo of yours."

He snatched back his arm and scowled playfully.

"Watch your language, or I won't buy that bottle of champagne I've been thinking about since we started negotiating this thing."

I chuckled and followed him to his car, laughing out loud as he muttered under his breath.

"Ridiculous. Whatever."

Despite the fact my crush on him was common office gossip, Edward and I got along great. He was charming, of course, but also kind and sharp as a tack. He wasn't joking when he said his parents raised him with impeccable manners. Esme Cullen, also a real estate agent, was my mentor and a lovely woman. He got his charm from her.

"Did Esme like the flowers?"

The soft smile that lit his face was the other reason I had always liked Edward. He was a real mama's boy.

"She did. She asked about you." For some reason, he shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"I hope you told her I was the reason for all your successes."

That brought his grin back.

"Naturally."


	6. Chapter 6

After four rounds of Jameson's on the rocks, I felt better than ever. Bella'd had that many glasses of wine, and her cheeks were almost the same color as her merlot.

"What are you going to do with your cut?" I leaned in like we were discussing something illicit.

"My financial advisor has some good ideas for long-term investments."

I sat back in my chair, disappointed she hadn't played along. Of course she hadn't. She was Bella.

"Well, I'm going to take a hot air balloon ride over the Grand Canyon with mine. Then I'm going to go on an African safari and shoot a lion. If there's any left over after I live like a king on the savanna, I'll take an Alaskan cruise. During the winter."

My crazy plans prompted a giggle, the first sign of drunkenness my straight-laced partner had shown. For just a moment, she was Pippa instead of the reserved and sophisticated Kate. The stirring of arousal caught me off guard.

Tricky. Very tricky.

I needed to say something else to get my mind off the sparkle in her eyes and the plunging neckline of her top.

"Wanna dance?"

_Wrong direction, Brain._

She looked around, eyes wide with surprise, and shook her head. "We're in the Old Oak Room, Edward. It's not a nightclub."

Strains of Harry Connick, Jr. played over the hidden speakers, and men swirled their expensive brandies in crystal glasses. To dance would cause a stir. I suddenly wanted that more than anything.

"Let's go, Princess."

I stood and held out my hand, and she was too nice to leave me hanging. With a nervous frown, she slipped her fingers across my palm. We didn't go far—just a few steps away from the table. Harry sang _It Had to Be You _as I pulled her close. My head swam with the whiskey and her flowery scent as I held her.

I didn't care that everyone was watching as I moved my hand from her waist to the back of her neck and slid my fingers through the silk of her hair.

I didn't care others could see when her eyes grew wide as I pulled her even closer and brushed my thumb over the heated apple of her cheek.

I didn't care that we had an audience as I moved closer still, until her lips were only a breath away.

But when I covered that sweet mouth with mine, felt her tremble in my embrace, I cared. I cared about the woman in my arms more than I ever thought possible.


	7. Chapter 7

It was dark. Very dark. My head pounded and my mouth was stuffed with cotton.

Slowly, my eyes adjusted to the light, and I took stock of my surroundings. I was definitely not in my bedroom. The ceilings were a little too high, and the sheets were a little too soft.

Someone rolled over in the dark next to me, and a heavy arm draped over my stomach.

"Mmmbel."

It was Edward.

No, no, no. I was in bed with Edward.

I took stock of my surroundings.

I was in bed naked with Edward.

I had slept with Edward.

My wine-hazy brain slowly collected the details. He'd kissed me, right there in the Old Oak Room in front of a bunch of stuffy old guys sipping scotch. He'd tasted like scotch. He'd felt like heaven.

He had called me Princess and kissed my neck, and when he pulled me into that cab, saying no didn't even occur to me. He was amazing. And somehow, I was amazing. I was spurred on by kind of alcohol infused confidence, aggressive and sexy and powerful.

It was fantastic. And…over.

Quietly, I shifted his arm off of me, frowning when he grabbed at me before rolling over again. It took several minutes to find all my clothes, but after I finally located my bra in the kitchen (What was my bra doing hanging from the corner of the fridge? I wished I could remember), I called a cab and left his condo, shutting the door behind me.


	8. Chapter 8

"Oh, God." A smile crept over my face just before my head split in two.

I attempted to push the light away with my hands, but it was no use. The sun stubbornly sliced through the gap between the curtains, spreading over the bed and highlighting the rumpled, empty spot next to me.

It wasn't unusual for me to wake up alone, but something told me a body was missing. Through the screaming headache, I tried to remember what had happened to cause such pain while still bringing a smile.

_Bella._

I'd brought Bella home after thoroughly and inappropriately kissing her in the stuffy Old Oak Room. In a fashion very unlike her, she'd shoved her hands down my pants in the taxi before dragging me to my door. We'd then proceeded to fill in all the pieces that had been missing in our friendship…several times. Kate in the office; Pippa in the sack.

Jesus, she'd been glorious.

But she was gone.


	9. Chapter 9

I hadn't done a walk of shame since...well, ever. It was a good thing Edward's building didn't have a doorman, or I would have been horribly embarrassed. As it was, I cringed when my cabbie smirked at me as I slid into the back seat.

Luckily, no one expected either Edward or me in the office that day. We had been working overtime to get the Donovan property squared away, and had earned a mental health day.

He'd never look for me at work.

So, after picking up my car, taking a long, steamy shower, and chugging about a gallon of black coffee, I swung into the office. Ostensibly, I showed up to say hello and gloat over my big fancy commission. In reality, I was hiding.

"Bella!" Alice stared at me in shock. "What the hell are you doing here? Shouldn't you be sleeping off a hangover or something?"

"I bet she didn't even celebrate last night." Lauren looked up from her game of spider solitaire with a scornful sniff.

"As a matter of fact," I started indignantly, before I caught myself. Bragging about the best sex of my life with a coworker was probably not work appropriate.

Lauren waited, eyebrows raised. Alice's eyes widened a little and she leaned in, as if she could smell a juicy bit of gossip being dangled in front of her.

"Edward and I got a drink, but then I went home."

_Sure, that's what happened. Except I didn't go home until the morning._

Alice visibly deflated. Lauren just smiled.

"Of course you did. Bella Swan, go after that tall, handsome, redheaded piece of ass? Never."

"He doesn't have red hair," I muttered lamely.

"Thank you, Bella. It's nice to know someone around here has my back. I'll have you know my hair is _auburn_, Lauren."

I could have died. Edward had decided to come to work, too. Because the universe just worked that way.

Stupid universe.


	10. Chapter 10

Of all the things I expected from Bella Swan, sneaking out after a night of incredible sex wasn't one of them. Well, I never would have expected the night of incredible sex, either. Not that she looked like she'd be bad in bed or anything. Okay, yeah. She did look like she'd be a little...uptight. Whether the wine loosened her inhibitions or she just had a special talent in the sack, I didn't know. I wouldn't have minded doing a little more research.

My initial plan when I woke had been to laze around between the sheets with Bella and eat seriously greasy food to nurse my hangover. That cold spot on the other side of my bed made my task list seem pretty lame. If I knew Bella, and I was pretty sure I knew her better than anyone else in the office after the night before—I'd better, at least—she was already at work, planning her next big coup. If I stayed in bed while she brought in our next multi-million-dollar client, I would be a tool.

In order to survive, I chewed a few Advil, drank four glasses of water and two cups of coffee, stopped at McDonald's for the greasiest biscuit they had, and dropped some Visine into my bloodshot eyes. I consoled myself with the fact that Bella would probably look just as bad, if not worse, and then entered the office.

As I'd suspected, she was already there, chatting away with Alice and ignoring Lauren like nothing was different. We'd rocked each other's worlds, but then her world kept spinning.

"He doesn't have red hair," she said as I got close enough to hear.

Ha! She was talking about me. I couldn't let that go without a thank you, so I announced my presence.

When Bella turned, my knees went weak. Her eyes were clear, her face flawless. She didn't have a single hair out of place or a wrinkle in her suit. As far as anyone could tell by looking at her, she'd gotten the best sleep of her life the night before. I looked like a scrub next to her. How the hell could she look so radiant when I felt like I was about to die?

Something else was missing, too. She smiled like she always did, held her head up proudly...but something was different. She'd been caught discussing me, which meant Alice and Lauren had probably tried to pump her for details about her celebration. If history was anything to go by, she should have been bright red. She couldn't control that one outward sign of her crush.

But where was her blush?


	11. Chapter 11

"Oh, Edward." The words seemed to just fall out of my mouth and flop around on the ground like fish gasping for breath. "I didn't think you'd be in today."

He gave me a weird look, like I had something dangling out of my nose.

"Of course," he said, still staring me down. "Wouldn't want you to get the edge on me for the next big sale."

Alice's eyes bounced back and forth between us like she was watching Wimbledon. She was going to figure it out. I felt like I had the words "One Night Stand" written on my forehead in permanent ink.

Talk about bad decision-making. I mean, sleeping with Edward Cullen wasn't what I would call a _bad _decision. I had finally touched his hair, and his lips, and other various bits that were definitely worth the morning-after discomfort. On the other hand, my crush had been harmless before. Now, a raging sexual desire had been added to the mix. It was like a switch had been flipped inside me.

For him, this was probably nothing new. I bet he took girls home from the bar all the time. If I made things weird, I'd ruin our friendship and look like some kind of high school kid.

All of this flashed through my brain in a minute. I froze, unable to come up with anything clever or witty or cool to say.

I had been standing there staring for just a couple beats too long to just let his teasing go, so I just blurted awkwardly, "Right. Okay. Well. See you later."


	12. Chapter 12

Bella Swan was acting weird. Alice seemed to think so, too, as she stared after her friend. Except, Bella wasn't acting weird at all. She acted as if nothing had happened. I didn't necessarily want to announce to the office that I'd hopped in bed with my business partner or anything, and I didn't think Bella would do that either.

But...no blush. No awkwardness. No lingering and longing looks. I'd kind of gotten used to those things, counted on them every day.

Bella's door shut with a loud click, leaving us all behind with our thoughts.

"Huh," Alice echoed my feelings exactly.

"What?" Lauren started a new game without waiting for our answers.

After several moments of silence, Lauren looked back up. "Well? What? What am I missing?"

I had no idea. Whatever it was, I was missing it, too.

Alice turned her laser-sharp gaze on me and raised an eyebrow. "You just got drinks and left her there?"

"Uh... She left me."

It was the truth, though the timeline was a little off.

"So you don't know what happened to her after that?"

Oh, boy. How to answer that one? Since I couldn't tell a lie, I had to mime one. I shook my head nervously and reached for several file folders on the edge of Alice's desk.

"I don't get what's so weird about Bella acting weird. She's always like this." Lauren rolled her eyes and handed me some documents that had snuck under her keyboard.

Exactly. Bella was always calm, cool, collected; she was the most amazing professional I'd ever known. But not even a night with me could rattle her cage. The thought was strangely offensive. Had I done something wrong? Her orgasms—all three of them—said no. But maybe she was a good actress. Maybe she'd had the worst night of her life, and the reason she no longer blushed in my presence was because she just didn't care anymore.

Why did that possibility hurt?


	13. Chapter 13

Behind the safety of my solid wooden door, I was shaking. Why had I done this to myself?

Sure, the whole office laughed about how I mooned over Edward, and sure, he knew that I was attracted to him. But before, that's all it was—mooning over some unattainable guy who nonetheless treated me kindly and seemed to like me.

I hadn't realized when all I could feel was lust and sweat and passion, that this moment was bound to come: the moment where he continued to act as if I was an adorable little girl with a crush, and where I would have to buck up and move on or risk being doomed to forever wallow in the woulda-coulda-shoulda's.

I let myself wallow for just a few minutes. No one likes having a what-if taken away. I may have entertained thoughts of what a date with Edward would be like, but those thoughts had no place in my head anymore. No matter what my mother said, guys didn't have relationships with the girls they took home from the bar.

"Enough," I said quietly, but firmly. "That's enough."

I stood up and walked to my desk, eyes dry and stomach only a little bit queasy. When Edward knocked on my door and poked his head in, looking every bit as hung over as I felt, I just smiled blandly.

"What's up, buddy?"


	14. Chapter 14

_Buddy?_ What the hell did that mean? Not once in our years of friendship or business partnership had she called me buddy.

"Uh, I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

I couldn't say anything more with so many ears potentially listening in. What I wanted to say was _That was the best sex of my life. _Or maybe _Can we do that again as soon as possible? _I had to settle for a general inquiry about her health, for God's sake.

"Of course." She laughed and shook her head slowly. "We just closed the deal of our careers yesterday, Edward. Why wouldn't I be okay?"

I suddenly wondered if it had all been a dream. There was Bella without a blush, calling me buddy, and, Jesus, she looked just as put together as ever. Had I really dreamed the feel of her skin, the warmth of her mouth, the shattering pleasure? Was I being the weird one instead of her?

"Well, the wine…" I started, but I wasn't brave enough to bring up what the wine had led to.

"Nothing a bit of Tylenol couldn't fix." Her eyebrows lifted just a bit, and she licked her bottom lip slowly.

If I hadn't known better, I'd have thought she was teasing me, but Bella didn't know how to tease…unless she had four glasses of wine in her. But then, I'd almost convinced myself everything that happened after the wine was all in my head.

At any rate, I wanted to barge into her office, lock the door behind me, and do it all again. I wanted to sit in her chair, watch her straddle my hips, feel her warm mouth all over me, drag my tongue from her neck to her navel…and maybe remind her of what she seemed to have forgotten.

"Is there anything else?"

I'd been standing in her doorway for several seconds lost in very inappropriate thought.

"Ah, nope. Nothing at all. Glad you're okay. I have some showings this afternoon, but I'll be available by cell."

"Right. I'm meeting that producer for drinks at five. I'll let you know how it goes."

I saw red. What producer? What drinks? And why in the name of everything holy did she think I'd want to know how her date went?

"Cross your fingers that we get the listing. I don't doubt we could set the price at nine million. Have you seen that place? You better start going through your buyers."

Shit. The listing. Yeah. She was thinking business while I was thinking…well, anything but. I really needed to get my head back in the game.

"Yeah. I've got your buyers. You just do your part." I didn't mean to sound so gruff and opened my mouth to apologize.

The door shutting in my face cut off any chance I had of making things right.

Where the hell was _my_ Bella, and when would she be back?


	15. Chapter 15

I did everything in my power to avoid being locked in another awkward conversation with Edward for the rest of the day. Luckily, he wandered out for his showings some time before eleven, looking dazed and a little confused. I could have sworn I caught him watching me out of the corner of his eye a few times.

He was probably waiting to see if I would to lose it and go crazy on him. It was clear he thought I couldn't handle our little tryst when he came creeping into my office, obviously worried he had hurt my feelings or damaged me. Well, he had ruined me for other men, but he didn't need to know that.

I did have some pride.

My first hint that our co-workers knew something was up came about lunchtime. Alice and Rosalie stood around the coffee pot, whispering and giggling.

"Bella might know," Alice said, waving me over conspiratorially. "She was with him last night."

Rosalie gave me an appraising stare. "Really? You actually went out with Edward socially? Were you blushing the entire night?"

"Nice, Rose, I'm trying to pump her for information here!" Alice complained. "Don't insult the source."

"What's up?" I tried to look as casual and innocent as possible.

"Edward is obviously in rough shape this morning," she said immediately. "He looks like he came straight to the office from...not his place. He's still wearing his shirt and pants from yesterday, for Pete's sake! We're trying to figure out who the lucky lady could be. Did you see anyone with him before you left last night?"

My years of playing poker with my dad and his cop friends finally came in handy. I gave my best bluffing face and shrugged. "I didn't see him with anyone but me."

Rosalie snorted. "Did he go home with you last night, then?"

"Please, Rose. If he went back to my place, don't you think I'd be turning bright red right now?"

I poured myself a cup of coffee and allowed myself a little self-satisfaction. Not a lie, since I went back to _his_ place. And I managed to sound both amused and scornful of the very idea. I might just pull this off.

"I think you'd be shouting it from the rooftops," she said with a laugh.


	16. Chapter 16

"Ah!"

The driver of a huge SUV flipped me off as I nearly ran a third stop sign since leaving the office. God bless the Volvo's safety rating. If I couldn't figure out what was going on in my head soon, I'd likely end up in a ditch or wrapped around a tree. My stomach grumbled for food, but I couldn't be bothered. My buyers were planning to meet me at one that afternoon, which gave me plenty of time to eat and unwind some, but I ended up driving to the outskirts of the city to a public park.

I didn't even get out of the car. Instead, I sat and stared at all the bored housewives walking their dogs.

She was tearing me up inside, and I couldn't figure out why. Her crush on me was office legend, but it had started well before we opened the company. As a college student, she'd worked as an assistant for my mom while getting her business degree. Every time I stopped in to say hi to my mother, Bella had blushed and ducked under the desk. Years of flirting and teasing to see her cheeks fill with color or hear her stutter as she tried to respond had me convinced that her feelings were still intact.

So why had one night in bed changed all that?

It had happened; of that, I was certain. She'd run her hands all over my body, gripped my hair with so much passion. I couldn't have dreamed that.

I sat there so long I almost missed my appointment. When I finally remembered where I was and what I was supposed to be doing, I had ten minutes to get to the first house and meet my buyers with my game face on. Too bad I smelled like whiskey and cigars—a potent reminder of what had led to the greatest sex of my life.

I had two choices: figure out what the hell was going on in Bella's mind or just let her go. If I went with the first, I could destroy our friendship. If I went with the second, well…the thought made my chest hurt in really strange and painful ways.

Stubborn was my middle name. Bella would 'fess up or kill me. I had no other options. First I had to sell a house. Then it was time for a game plan.

With the decision made, I ran the same three stop signs on the way to my first showing and waved at three more angry SUV drivers.

_Look out, Bella Swan. I'm coming for you._


	17. Chapter 17

Jacob Black was tolerable, as millionaires go. So far, he had managed to refer to his nine-million-dollar mansion as quaint, picturesque, and stately all in the same breath. His wife, Nessie, had made a fortune in music production, while Jacob was a small timer in Hollywood. They were packing their bags and heading for the west coast, which meant they needed someone to help them unload their very spendy home and acreage.

That was where Edward and I came in.

He was incredibly impressed when I described our recent coup with the Donovans, although he didn't seem to like the idea of working with Edward.

"I trust him implicitly, Mr. Black," I assured him, putting on my best no-nonsense businesswoman tone. "He knows everyone who is in the market for a home like yours, and his sales skills are unmatched."

"I'm just not sure." He swirled his wine and looked me in the eye. "I like you, Ms. Swan, but I don't know this Cullen from Adam."

"I'll tell you what," I said quickly, sensing he was getting skittish. I couldn't let him off the hook, not after over an hour of carefully reeling him in. "Why don't you come to the office tomorrow. Edward and I can show you how we do things, and then we'll take you out to lunch to go over the fine points. I promise you won't regret it."

He looked thoughtfully into his wine for another moment before downing the whole glass.

"You drive a hard bargain, Ms. Swan. I like that. You have a deal."

I tried not to look too eager as I walked back to my car, phone already in hand as I typed out an urgent text to Edward.

_Drop everything. I need you. Meet me at the office ASAP. Wear something comfortable, this could take all night._


	18. Chapter 18

I put the finishing touches on the offer my buyers had made just as the text from Bella came in.

_Drop everything. I need you. Meet me at the office ASAP. Wear something comfortable, this could take all night._

Well, hell. What had I been so worried about? Of course she'd had her professional mask on at work. My mind drifted to my earlier fantasy of taking her in her office chair and then moved quickly to bending her over the desk.

What was I doing wasting time when my girl waited for me? _My girl. _I could only hope.

I hit send to deliver the contract to the seller's agent and bolted from the chair. I needed wine…and probably more than one bottle.

I spent entirely too long at the liquor store picking out something I thought Bella would like. The whiskey called me, but I decided I wanted a clear head for whatever happened. No more wondering if it had been a dream. Every detail would be imprinted on my brain forever.

With my purchases in hand, I scrambled back to the car and headed home for a quick shower. I couldn't be seductive when I wore clothes from the previous night. Plus, that was just gross. I probably overdid it with the cologne, but I needed to get rid of the stale brandy odor that hovered around me.

At seven, I pulled into the small parking lot outside the renovated house that we used for offices, pleased to note Bella's was the only car in sight.

The door was locked, so I pulled out my keys and let myself in quietly. She'd asked me to come, but I still crept down the corridor to her office, hoping to catch her off guard. After all, she'd had me dancing like a fool all day.

When I reached her door, I leaned against the frame and just watched her for a moment. Bella in the office… Why hadn't I ever noticed how sexy she was when she was concentrating? Her lush lips wrapped around the tip of a pen as she typed furiously on her laptop, and oh, how I wanted to be a writing utensil for just fifteen minutes. The hottest fifteen minutes of my life…

A groan slipped between my teeth, and she looked up in surprise.

"Oh, good. You're here. We can get started."

"Yes, please," I murmured, sauntering in and placing the bottle of wine on her desk.

Her brows drew together in confusion. "What the hell, Edward? We can't drink while putting together the most important marketing plan of our lives. Will you get with the program? I swear. It's like you're possessed today or something."

The excitement and arousal leaked away slowly, and I collapsed in the chair across from her. "Marketing plan?"

"For Jacob Black. Have you lost your mind?"

Apparently, I had. I'd lost my mind over Bella Swan in less than twenty-four hours. What the hell was wrong with me?

oOo

Fluffy fic recs:

Justaskalice says you should read SunKing's Sticky Sweet and the EPOV Sugar.

SunKing says go now and read justaskalice's The Yes Project.

JustAskSunKing suggests m7707's Good Deal or WhatsMyNomDePlume's The Best I Ever Had if you like your fluff to be steamy.

That should keep you smiling!


	19. Chapter 19

Edward visibly deflated when I mentioned the marketing plan. My eyes went from the bottle of wine, to Edward, and back to the wine.

Oh, God. My text.

"Did you think— I mean, we're not going to—"

"Of course not!" A weird sort of flush worked its way from his neck to his ears and made his normally clear, pale skin look mottled.

"Are you blushing?" I couldn't help myself. I laughed.

"What? No!"

"You are! Oh, that's awesome. All this time, talking about sex is what makes you blush? That's almost too easy." I chuckled quietly and then shoved a pile of materials I'd already gone through toward him. A heady sense of power coursed through me.

"I'm not blushing." He grabbed the papers and shuffled through them roughly.

"Okay. Sure."

"So what's the plan?" He changed the subject and pulled his collar up, like he was trying to hide the pink flush that stained his neck.

It didn't work and only made me giggle helplessly.

"Shut up. The plan?"

I filled him in on my arrangements with Jacob, making sure to give him all the details he'd need to charm the pants off the guy.

"For some reason, he's really hesitant about bringing you in, but I don't think I can pull this off without you. You need to impress him."

"You've already gotten this guy on the line, Bella." He reached out and covered my hand with one of his, giving me an encouraging smile. "I wouldn't be able to pull something like this off without _you_. So, let's just make sure tomorrow goes perfectly, okay?"

I exhaled shakily. There was the Edward I admired. Encouraging, kind, and confident. With really warm, big hands. Hands that perfectly fit cupped around my—

"Okay," I said, banishing that thought before it went too far.


	20. Chapter 20

"There's no way he can turn this down," Bella said as she shut her laptop.

After two in the morning, we were both exhausted, and I wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed, wrap my arms around her—

"Want to meet him with me tomorrow?" She interrupted my thoughts, her brain in business, as always.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Of course."

_Christ_.

"You don't need me, though. Sounds like you've got this guy wrapped around your little finger."

Who the hell was Jacob Black, anyway? I'd looked all over the Internet to see what kind of producing he'd done, and the results brought next to nothing. How could he afford a multi-million-dollar house in the hills? He was probably all over Bella, flirting with her and making her feel beautiful and wanted—as she should always feel, of course.

"It's not just him we need to impress. His wife is the moneymaker in their partnership. That's where you come in. You've got to bring the charm—but not too much. I think Jacob is worried your pretty face will lead his wife astray."

She thought I had a pretty face. I could work with that.

Wait. What was I thinking? She'd always thought I had a pretty face. I relied on that fact. Reveled in it, even. For the first time ever, her admiration filled me with warmth and gratitude instead of pride. Why was it suddenly so important to me?

"Where are you headed now?" The question slipped out before I could edit.

Bella looked down at her phone in surprise and grinned. "It's after two, Edward. I'm probably going to go home, put on my comfiest and rattiest pajamas, and pass out."

Even the ratty pajamas sounded sexy. I scrubbed my face with my hands and admitted defeat. The only way to get her back to my place would be to ask, and nothing she'd said or done all day indicated she'd say yes. I could do nothing but go home to drown my sorrows and strange new feelings in whiskey.

But not too much. We had a major client to impress, it seemed.


	21. Chapter 21

So much of the real estate business involved selling myself, particularly when trying to land a client, and that meant I had to project a particular image based upon who the client was.

The morning of our presentation to Jacob and Nessie Black, I was also a little distracted by the fact that Edward had come to our meeting with a bottle of wine. He read my hastily written text message and assumed I was looking for a repeat performance. And apparently, he had been interested.

It was a confidence booster, that was for sure. The girls I had seen Edward with over the years we'd known each other were different in many ways, but they were all beautiful, smart, and confident as hell. The girl he had dated in college, Tanya, had been funny and sweet on top of that. She had never been anything but nice to me on the infrequent occasions we saw each other. My fond memories of Tanya, however, were tainted by the stories I overheard Edward telling on several occasions. Apparently, she was a tiger in the bedroom.

I was feeling a little saucy that morning, so I threw on a red dress with a tight, fitted blazer, and let my hair fall down over my shoulders. It was professional but alluring. My impression of Nessie had been that she liked a woman who had a handle on her sexuality, and if I could dole out a little payback to Edward for years of making me blush on purpose, well, that would be a bonus.

I winked at myself in the mirror as I put on my lipstick.

"Eat your heart out, Cullen."

* * *

**A/N: Just a quick reminder, as of this chapter, one full day has passed since everything went down between them. So for those of you shaking your heads at the lack of communication...keep that in mind. :) We love your reviews, thank you so much for reading!**


	22. Chapter 22

_For the love of…_

What was Bella doing to me? I'd never noticed just how amazing she looked in red, but there she was, ready to give the biggest marketing presentation she'd ever done while wearing her sexiest red dress.

How was I supposed to concentrate on impressing Jacob Black with her looking all slinky and like Jessica Rabbit? A corporate Jessica Rabbit, of course, since Bella had thought to cover at least some of that fabric sin with a blazer.

When we met the Blacks, I realized Bella knew exactly what she was doing. Jacob eyed her appreciatively, stirring something deep and primal within me. I resisted the urge to whip my jacket off and cover more of Bella's dress.

Nessie Black's eyes widened and drank in the sight before her. That look was something I'd seen on hundreds of women the first time they saw me. Only…Nessie Black wasn't looking at me.

"Look at you," she gushed. "Oh, Jake, how did you find the most beautiful Realtor in the city?"

Nessie's husband was in the middle of shaking my hand, and he gripped even tighter at her words. His face softened a bit when he realized she referred to my partner and not me. Bella, the consummate sophisticate, accepted the compliment gracefully. She offered a pleased smile and accepted the exuberant hug from an excited and fully convinced Nessie.

We didn't even have to give the presentation, but we did anyway. Jacob, secure in the knowledge that I was no threat, signed the listing agreement with a flourish and sent us away with a bottle of champagne from his private collection.

We'd done it. Okay, Bella had done it. She hadn't needed me at all, except to show Mr. Black he could trust our whole team, including the handsome and charismatic business partner—me.

When we met up back at the office, Bella glowed with pride and accomplishment. Where I normally would have teased and poked about my business acumen overshadowing hers, I instead stepped back and watched her bask in success.

"Should we pop this baby open and celebrate?" I brandished the bottle at her.

Bella's eyes widened for a moment before she shook her head vehemently. "No, you enjoy that on your own. I have to keep a clear head. Can't end up…"

She didn't finish, but I knew the words.

"…_in bed with you again."_

And why not? Why was Bella so against another go around? What the hell was so bad about the first time? Not only unimpressed by my skills between the sheets, she'd also gotten over her epic crush in the span of just a few hours. That part really bothered me, and the fact that it bothered me bothered me even more.

So again, I wondered… _What the hell is going on here?_


	23. Chapter 23

The look on Edward's face when I told him I didn't want to crack the champagne was a mixture of sadness and shock. I couldn't quite understand his disappointment. I mean, the sex had been amazing, but he had never shown the slightest interest in me before. He had to know I wasn't the fuck buddy type.

Maybe he didn't. Maybe he thought I was into that kind of thing.

It would have been sensible to talk about it, but he hadn't brought it up, except to vaguely ask how I was doing, and damn it, I wasn't going to be the first one to break. Besides, he knew how I felt. As Lauren had pointed out the other day, everyone knew how I felt.

After Edward left to put the champagne in the office fridge, Alice wandered into my office with a mischievous smile on her face.

"So, I couldn't help but notice that you seem to be over the whole Edward thing."

I struggled to keep a straight face. "Over what?"

Her smile broadened. "Right. So Jasper has a friend who has been dying to meet you, and I thought tomorrow night would be a perfect opportunity for a double date. I already made reservations at La Bella Italia, so no excuses."

"You know I hate set-ups, Alice!"

"You say that like I've set you up before." She dismissed me with a wave of her hand. "Besides, it isn't a blind date or anything. You'll be with me and Jasper in a non-threatening place with good food. And if you really hate him, at least you get a free meal out of it."

I wavered for a minute, giving her some time plead with big, puppy dog eyes. Over her shoulder, I saw Edward lurking at Jessica's desk, watching us with a furrowed brow.

"You know what? Yeah. That sounds good."


	24. Chapter 24

_Over me? _Was that what was going on? Everything that had happened since our night together supported the thought, but I just couldn't accept it.

When Alice tried to pressure her into a double date, I was certain Bella would say no. She had to.

But she didn't. She looked up from her desk and found me watching her, and then she said yes. She said yes to a date with someone else.

And it hurt more than I ever thought possible.

Right. Something about sleeping with me had changed Bella's mind. I must have been horrible. I held no ridiculous notions of being a sex god, but she'd seemed happy enough with my performance…three times. The three orgasms could have been faked. The sighs, the shivers, the whispered pleas… Maybe it had all been lies.

Had I turned off the girl who'd been nuts about me for eight years with really bad sex? Had she just suffered through it until she could sneak out? Bella didn't seem that kind of girl, but all of her actions since the best night of my life suggested she'd been less than impressed. As a classy, thoughtful woman, she would never call attention to my lack of prowess.

What if every other girlfriend or sexual encounter I'd had before Bella had lied? Had I been too confident about something I actually sucked at?

I bolted for the car and sped home, glancing through my phone contacts as I drove. Who could I ask?

Jane. We were still friendly…sort of. We hadn't actually talked in months, but she didn't hate me. She'd tell me the truth. I dialed the number before I even got out of the car.

"Edward? What the…"

"Hey, Jane. How's it going?"

"Um, I'm guessing this isn't a _let's catch up_ phone call."

Yeah, Jane was the right choice. She always told it like it was.

"It's not. Sorry."

The words tumbled out at that point. I told Jane about Bella's longstanding crush and our amazing night together. About how I'd never been interested in pursuing anything with her because I knew Bella would want it all, and I couldn't give it to her. About how Bella had been stonewalling me since leaving me alone in my bed.

"Sounds like you got exactly what you wanted. What's the problem?"

I dropped my bag and keys and just stared at the wall in front of me. The situation did sound perfect…except it wasn't. I got incredible sex with a gorgeous woman who wanted nothing more to do with me. No commitments. Except…

"I don't know how her feelings could just…disappear. Am I really bad in bed, Jane? Has everyone lied all these years?"

My ex-girlfriend's tinkling laugh filtered over the line. "Oh, wow. You've got it bad."

"What?" I shook my head hard and collapsed on the couch. "I do not. I just don't want to be a bad lover."

She laughed again. "Keep telling yourself that, darling. You're not a bad lover. Well, there was one thing…"

"I didn't do that! I haven't done that since you."

"Smart move. Which is why I can't believe you're being so dumb about this. You've had something for this girl for a long time, haven't you?"

I didn't know how to answer her. If I were honest with myself, Bella was everything I could ever want and always had been, but falling for Bella meant forever. I was way too young to think about forever… Wasn't I? I was.

So, I lied—to Jane and to myself. "She's never really been my type. Not at all."

"You keep telling yourself that, Edward. Maybe she didn't used to be, but you're not that guy anymore. She's the settle down and get married type, and you're starting to think that might be okay."

_Married. To Bella. _

Jane was right. A year ago, that image would have made me shudder, but the idea was definitely not scary now. In fact, I was willing to do just about anything to make it a reality. The only problem was...

"So, if I'm not bad in bed, why is she suddenly over me?"

"Well, Edward, my guess is that you haven't told her you're the settle down and get married type, too. You're probably her last fling before she finds a guy who wants to commit. You watch. The next guy she goes out with is the one she'll marry."

And she had a date the next night.

Over my dead body.


	25. Chapter 25

I was putting dinner together and trying to decide just what one wears on a double date with a total stranger when a pounding on my door interrupted me. It started out slowly, but as I walked through the house, the knocking got louder and more insistent.

"I'm coming!" I yelled. "Hold your horses!"

Edward stood on my porch, breathless and red-faced and looking as determined as he did when he was trying to make a sale.

"I have to talk to you." He pushed past me into the living room.

"Come on in," I said sarcastically, and I closed the door behind him. "I was just making dinner. Are you hungry?"

"No. I haven't been hungry all day." He ran his hands through his hair. It stuck up on one side, like he had been pulling on it. He looked slightly deranged, come to think of it.

"Edward, is something wrong?" I put down the bowl I was carrying and approached him slowly, like he was a startled deer.

"Actually, I think something is finally right." He let go of his hair suddenly and crossed the room, grabbed my shoulders and pulled me to him. His lips touched mine with a bolt of electricity.

For just a moment, I sank into his kiss, remembered the fire and the tenderness. Before I could drown in him, my brain kicked in, and I pushed him away.

"What the hell, Edward?"


	26. Chapter 26

She pushed me away. I was too late.

_Use your words, Edward._

"I'm—Uh. Are you…are you upset with me?"

Well, that wasn't exactly what I wanted to say, but it was a start.

"Why would I be upset with you?"

I thought for a moment, determined to put the right words to the problem.

"Because I've been blind for eight years. Blind and stubborn."

Bella's eyes widened; her mouth fell slack. For a beat or two, she struggled for words. "Blind?"

"And stupid, too. Really, really stupid. I shouldn't have taken you to bed the way I did."

Her lips thinned into a hard line, and she turned away.

"I wasn't upset with you, but I am now."

So much for using my words.

"I didn't mean it that way." Desperation soaked every word. "I mean I did everything backward. I should have taken you out first."

Bella left me in the foyer, her words trailing after her. "You did. We went to the Old Oak Room. It was nice."

I followed and found her stirring something on the stove. "I should have taken you out more than once. I should have shown you how special you are. But I'm stupid and didn't realize until you'd already moved on."

She glanced over her shoulder with a bemused expression. "Moved on? Moved on from what, exactly?"

"Me."

"Well, there wasn't much to move on from, was there? One hot night—"

"So it was hot?"

Bella dropped the spoon she held and burst into laughter. "Of course it was hot, Edward. You don't need me to tell you that, I'm sure. But I knew it was just one night. I'm not going to make things weird for you, so if that's what this is about, you can relax. There will be no weirdness."

Christ. Like an idiot, I focused on the wrong thing _again._ If she turned me down when I finally got to the real question, I wouldn't have any room to blame her.

"Maybe I want a little weirdness."


	27. Chapter 27

I waited for the laughter, but he was completely serious.

"What are you talking about?"

He did that thing with his hair again, raking through it with both hands. "Bella, I'm trying to say that I want more than the one night. I want to take you out, I want to know you, kiss you, all that stuff."

He smiled at me and reached out for my hands.

His words made no sense at all, and I started to get angry.

"Are you _kidding_ me?" I backed away, shaking my head.

His shoulders dropped, and he breathed out a deep gust of air. "No, I'm not."

"You tease me for years. The whole office makes fun of me constantly because everyone, and I'm talking everyone, including your _mother_, Edward, knows that I have this ridiculous crush on you."

"Bella, I—"

"No," I cut him off. "I'm talking now. You say you've seen the light, and the reason you've seen the light is because we had sex. Do you have any idea how awful that sounds?"

"Can I talk now?"

"Please."

"I'm not saying I've seen the light because we slept together. And you're right to be skeptical. But you have to believe me when I say I want to see where this goes. You and me. Together."


	28. Chapter 28

And there it was. Everything laid out before her—my heart, my balls, everything.

She just stared. I couldn't blame her for not believing me. After all, I'd taken years to come to my senses. Years of dating the wrong girls because the right one would have wanted marriage and kids. Years of meaningless sex because the one that meant something would have rocked me to my very core.

"One night doesn't change everything, Edward. It just doesn't happen."

Why was she being so stubborn? Her shoulders tensed, and her jaw clenched as she built a wall to block me out for good.

"I'm trying to tell you that it wasn't just one night. You've been my dream all along, but I wasn't ready to see. Somewhere deep inside, I knew the moment I opened that door and let you in, that would be _it. _You're it."

Her face softened, but her mouth remained set in a firm line. More convincing? Fine, then.

"I'm sorry I needed four whiskeys to unlock that door. I'm sorry I took days after the best night of my life to realize what was so different. _Yes_, you were amazing. _Yes,_ I want to do that again and again. What you see as the end to years of wanting is the exact opposite for me. I'll never want anyone but you."

Bella didn't say anything as she pulled down two plates from the cabinet. I let her mull, secure in the fact she wasn't going to kick me out. She'd have only gotten one plate if she didn't want me to stay.

"I hope you like chicken marsala," she said softly.

"I'm grateful for anything," I said truthfully.

I wasn't just talking about dinner, either. I'd take anything she gave—but I wanted a second chance most of all.


	29. Chapter 29

He left after dinner. I gave him one kiss—on the lips, but no tongue—before sending him on his way.

"I'm not giving up," he whispered in my ear.

I hugged him, not quite sure how to reconcile our friendship and what I knew about his romantic past with the sincere plea for my affection he had made in my kitchen.

"I don't want you to," I said honestly.

"Don't go on that date tomorrow," he pleaded. "Please."

"I'm not making any promises, Edward." But at the desperate look on his face, I relented. "I'll tell Alice I don't feel well."

"You could just tell her you're going out with me instead."

His words gave me pause. "You want to tell people at work? Doesn't that seem a little...risky to you? Once we tell them, there's no going back. And I can say with absolute certainty that no one suspects a thing right now."

"I'm not ashamed of this." He cupped my cheek with one hand and smiled down at me. "Are you?"

"I don't even know what this is." I laughed. "But your cheesy response is noted."

"Girl, you haven't seen cheesy yet."

With that ominous remark, he got into his Volvo and drove away.


	30. Chapter 30

Holy shit, she said she would give me a chance. I was elated and scared to death at the same time.

Elated for obvious reasons; scared to death that I'd mess it all up again before we really got this thing off the ground. I'd never been so terrified of a woman, and that meant she was more important than I'd ever believed possible. Bella Swan was the one. The one who'd pick out a house with a picket fence and make me happy to give up my bachelor pad.

I cranked up the radio and danced along to the beat as I drove across town to my lonely condo. The old me wouldn't have stopped until I got her to come back to my place, but I was a new man. I'd give her the time she needed. I'd woo her and show everyone she was my girl. I'd take her to brunch with my parents and burn my little black book while she watched.

How the hell had I gone from consummate bachelor to half in love with my business partner in less than two whole days? Easy. I'd always been half in love with Bella. Her crush had been cute instead of awkward because I actually felt the same way. What an idiot I'd been, wasting so many years when we could have been together.

The condo seemed especially quiet and lonely when I got home. After Bella's warm and inviting kitchen, delicious dinner, and amusing conversation, the stark silence was a physical blow.

I set my bag down and shrugged out of my jacket before selecting a DVD for the evening. Nothing looked appealing. For about ten minutes, I stared at the blank TV screen, debating if I should go to bed or go get something to drink. Without even thinking about it, I picked up my phone and started dialing.

"Hello?"

"Hey. I was just sitting here doing nothing and realized I miss you."

"Already?"

"I always miss you when you're not here. Don't I call you when I go on vacation?"

The silence on the other end of the line couldn't hide her smile. I hoped she was starting to understand just how long I'd been fighting feelings for her.

"I guess you do," she admitted. "I always thought you were just trying to make me jealous by telling me about paradise while I'm stuck in the office."

I settled back into the cushions and grinned. "Nope. Turns out my paradise was right there in the office, too."

"Oh, God. You are bringing the cheese."

"Well, I did warn you."


	31. Chapter 31

I was a little terrified about what Edward would do at the office the next day. We talked all night, exchanging all kinds of silly information about each other that we didn't already know. He told me that his favorite color was brown, and I told him that my favorite flowers were tulips. We talked about our childhoods and exes, and by the time I looked at the clock it was four in the morning.

"We have to go to work in a few hours." I yawned loudly.

"Trying to get rid of me, Swan?"

"Trying to get into bed. Don't say it."

"Say what?" He held back his laughter, but before I could stop myself, I was giggling helplessly.

"I'll see you at work."

"Looking forward to it."

I didn't end up sleeping at all. Our talk hyped me so much I took a shower and made a big breakfast, then sat and watched the sun came up as I ate. People really don't appreciate sunrises enough.

I didn't have anywhere to be that day, so I threw on a comfortable pair of nice jeans and a blouse and headed into the office.

Alice gave my outfit a baleful stare when I walked in.

"I hope you aren't wearing that tonight."

"Actually, Alice, I don't think I'm going."

"What? You promised!"

"I know, but something came up and I just can't make it. I promise I will go out with you and Jasper soon."

"You aren't giving me the whole story, Bella Swan. I hate that."

I smiled blithely as Edward walked in, a big bouquet of purple and red tulips in his hands. "All I can say is that it's important, Alice. Trust me on this."

She pouted for a few seconds, until she noticed the flowers Edward carried.

"Ooh, excellent. I smell a new office pool."

Lauren looked up from her computer with a smirk. "Put my money on the mom."

"I'd like to put some money down," I said, waving Edward over.

He grinned and picked up his pace.

"On the supermodel again?" Alice asked.

"Nope," I answered. "Put my money on me."

Before Alice could ask a question or Lauren could make a crack, Edward tossed the bouquet down on the front desk and cupped my face in his hands. Humming office machines, Lauren's indignant snorts, Alice's exuberant squeals—all of it faded away as he searched my eyes for any sign of hesitation. When I smiled, he covered my mouth with his and took us public in the most public way possible.

"No more office pools, ladies." He turned to the assistants with a smirk. "I'm officially off the market."

oOo

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